Bertram Warr
by George J. Dance Bertram James Warr (December 7, 1917 - April 3, 1943) was an English poet born in Canada."Selected Poetry of Bertram Warr (1917-1943)," Representative Poetry Online, University of Toronto, UToronto.ca, Web, Dec. 25, 2011. Life Warr was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Bertram Howard Warr and Mary T. Warr. He was educated at the University of Toronto Extension Department, following which he worked in menial jobs in Toronto and Muskoka. In 1938 he hitchhiked to Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the following year stowed away on an ocean liner to England. Arriving in London, he worked at a variety of odd jobs while studying informally at the University of London, where he became a socialist and a pacifist.Brian Traherne, "Bertram Warr 1917-1943," Canadian Poetry 1920-1960 (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 2010), 223, Google Books, Web, Dec. 25, 2011. In 1941 Favil Press published "Yet a Little Onward," a chapbook of 14 poems by Warr, in its Resurgam Younger Poets Series. The book attracted favorable attention from Robert Graves and G.S. Fraser. Warr was conscripted to fight in World War II in 1941, and served in the Royal Air Force. He was shot down over Essen in 1943. He is buried in Rheinberg War Cemetery in Germany.Bertram James Warr, Canadian Virtual War Memorial. Web, Apr. 12, 2015. Writing The Dictionary of Literary Biography says that Warr's war poems "are without the exhilaration of those of Rupert Brooke ... the irony and understatement of Robert Graves, the rich symbolic transmutations of Isaac Rosenberg, the vivid documentations of Edmund Blunden and Wilfred Owen, and the satirical finesse of Siegfried Sassoon. They are, however, faithful representations of the actuality of war and London life under duress, and their various free forms project a sincere, straightforward view."Keith Garebian, "Bertram Warr," Dictionary of Literary Biography, Thomson Gale, BookRags.com, Web, Dec. 25, 2011. Recognition Warr's poems were included in the 1942 anthology Poems of This War . On his death, the Times Literary Supplement printed an obituary. A.J.M. Smith included his poetry in the 2nd and 3rd editions of the Book of Canadian Poetry. The October 1945 issue of the literary magazine Contemporary Verse was a tribute issue to Warr, featuring several of his poems and a critical article by editor Alan Crawley. Publications *''"Yet a Little Onwards". London: Favil Press, 1941. *''In Quest of Beauty: Selected poems. Toronto: Crucible Press, 1950. *''Acknowledgement to Life: Collected poems'' (edited by Leo Gasparini; with preface by Earle Birney). Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1970. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Bertram Warr, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Apr. 12, 2015. See also *Canadian World War II poets *List of British poets *List of Canadian poets *Timeline of Canadian poetry References External links ;Books *Bertram Warr at Amazon.ca ;Poems * Selected Poetry of Bertram Warr (1917-1943) (3 poems) at Representative Poetry Online. * Bertram Warr 1917-1943 in Canadian Poetry 1920 to 1960. Category:1917 births Category:1943 deaths Category:20th-century poets Category:Canadian poets Category:English poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:War poets Category:People from Toronto Category:Canadian World War II poets